The 2020s: An Echo of the 1920s

Armand Yazdani, Daily Emerald

EUGENE, Ore. (CMG) – The start of a new decade means many new things. The world will see improvements in technology, health and science. Cultures will change, along with politics and economies. Creators will continue to innovate and people’s political and musical values will shift over time. 

With that being said, as the members of Generation Z reach adulthood, their influence on culture, politics and technology will surge. And with that increasingly influential generation comes the decreasing influence of other generations. The 2020s in the United States will be similar to the 1920s, with more emphasis on political isolationism, advances in technology and shifts in music. 

As the ‘20s approach, a majority of Americans reject intervening in foreign countries’ politics. 

According to the findings from the Committee for A Responsible Foreign Policy, most Americans want fewer military foreign interventions abroad. In the survey, 86% of those polled believe American military intervention should be used as a last resort. About 57% agreed that foreign military aid is “counterproductive.” 

Americans elected Warren Harding as president in 1920, who vowed to abstain from foreign intervention in general. Similar to the Americans of that decade, Americans now want less foreign military intervention and aid. As the Americans of the 1920s elected Warren Harding president, the Americans of the 2020s may start their decade with a new presidency as well. 

In the coming decade, hip-hop music will become increasingly popular, just as jazz dominated the 1920s music landscape. According to a Nielsen report, R&B and hip-hop have overtaken Rock with seven out of 10 of the most-bought albums belonging to the former genre. Our 1920s counterparts embraced jazz, with that era now known as the Jazz Age. Jazz Age America was blessed with musicians such as Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. 

Like our Interbellum Generation counterpart, we see a vast array of new technological products. The emergence of blockchain technology, cryptocurrency, self-driving cars and biochips are emblematic of this technological boom. Although the technological changes of the 1920s seem trivial now, they were revolutionary in their time. Traffic lights, commercial radios, hair dryers and bulldozers were some 1920s inventions that would change daily life indefinitely. 

As the 2020s approach, it will bear many similarities to the same decade of 100 years ago. With major shifts in music, politics and technology, Americans of the 2020s will soon be experiencing change similar to that of the 1920s. 

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